Cordoba’s San Matias Copper Project to Operate for 23 Years

Cordoba Minerals (TSXV:CDB,OTCQB:CDBMF) has released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its San Matias copper-gold–silver project in Colombia, which is docketed to have a 23 year mine life.

In terms of output, the PEA lays out total copper production of 417,300 tonnes, along with total gold production of 724,500 ounces and silver production of 5.93 million ounces.

Average yearly copper production for the first five years is estimated at 15,400 tonnes in concentrate, while years six to 16 are set at 20,700 tonnes annually (tpa); the life-of-mine average will be 18,100 tpa.

San Matias is projected to be an 8,000 tonne per day (tpd) conventional open-pit mining operation, which will later grow to 16,000 tpd following a planned processing plant expansion in year six.

The first five years are set to see average copper, gold and silver grades of 0.67 percent, 0.3 grams per tonne (g/t) and 3.74 g/t, respectively.

Financially, the project is looking at initial capital spending of US$161.4 million; total life-of-mine costs are estimated at US$527.5 million. The after-tax net present value is set at US$210.7 million with an after-tax internal rate of return of 20.3 percent, which represents a 5.3 year payback period.

“We believe we have demonstrated a very robust project at San Matias through the PEA work completed by Nordmin. The Alacran deposit, with its significant copper, gold and silver grades and low strip ratio, remains the cornerstone of the Project, supplemented by the later addition of mill feed from the Montiel East, Montiel West and Costa Azul pits,” Cordoba President and CEO Eric Finlayson said in a statement.

San Matias is expected to generate US$180.7 million in royalty revenue along with US$331.2 million in income tax revenue for the Colombian government. Extra opportunities for economic advancement exist, including the delineation of high-grade gold veins within the El Alacrán deposit.

As of 10:53 a.m. EDT on Tuesday (July 30), Cordoba’s share price was unchanged on the TSX at C$0.09.

On Monday (July 29), copper was trading at US$5,949 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.